Switzerland- Lucerne and Bernese Oberland 2017
Zooey, Adam and I were lucky enough to have an INCREDIBLE 10 day trip to Switzerland in September 2017. We got the idea from a friend, Alina, who noted many kids hiking with their parents when she was in that country. That little tip was all it took for me to be off to the races planning what ended up being my favorite family trip of all time thus far:) The trip came together easily in large part due to the wonderful posts of a mom who runs the bog Moms Tots Zurich. If you are planning to go to Switzerland, check out her blog!! She was spot on about just about everything.
Special mention also the adventure mom blogger at Bring The Kids.
General info about Switzerland:
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| Atop Mt Rigi |
--Playgrounds ABOUND. From trains, to airports to tops of mountains, using a playground as a kid and parent friendly bribe works like magic in this country.
--A few families have followed in our trip footsteps and noted that some of the transfers and towns were not so easy with strollers. We have literally never travelled with a stroller. Ever. We use a carrier backpack. So I can't speak to ease of stroller use. But I can STRONGLY encourage you to use a backpack instead! So much easier to be hands free at all times not lugging a wheeled contraption.
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| Children's Adventure Trail |
--It’s not that expensive. If you have lived in Chicago, NY, LA, Seattle etc, you will not find Switzerland any more pricey than usual. Week of transport for family of 3 (free kid) was ~1K, airline tics were $800/each, food is about the same as here (no tipping, but prices are about 20% higher than here so averages out the same). Most outdoor activities are free. Nice hotels ~$350 same as here but of course can do budget or nicer as you want.
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| Ferry on Lake Lucerne |
--We like to be outside and plan our trips accordingly. We are not so into museums, or restaurants or checking things off a tourist ‘to do’ list. We like to explore new and beautiful places, see cool natural phenomenon, hike and spend time outside. If that’s your vibe, continue reading.
--We like to have home bases- we only explored 2 towns/areas in 9 days. We favor quality time in an area over quantity of areas ESPECIALLY with a kiddo.
--Our kid expects to do some walking. At 4 she will hike 2 miles on her own and up to 4-6 miles in our backpack under the right circumstances. We have never travelled with a stroller.
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| Play equipment on the Children's Adventure Trail (Murren) |
Word on train/cable car travel:
--No benefit to renting a car with our itinerary. Trains were perfect.
--Look into and purchase a SBB discount card. With our itinerary the SBB “half fare card” was the cheapest option as not all our routes were covered on the other fare cards (esp Jungfrau). Some of these must be purchased before arrival in country so do your homework.
--Kids under 6 travel free and there are discounted passes for older kids that you should investigate
Day 1 and 2 ORDÃ Zurich (plane overnight, arrived at 10:30 AM)Ã Lucerne (1 hour by train).
--Would do this exactly the same again.
--Trains leave hourly from Zurich to Lucerne and is an hour long train ride so even tired kids will likely stay awake due to excitement.
--Took a nap once arrived in Lucerne mid afternoon. Walked around town after nap found dinner, no major plans this day.
--Hotel in Lucerne: Waldstatterhof Swiss Quality Hotel (http://www.hotel-waldstaetterhof.ch/en/). I would stay here again.
--Pros: Location (right across from train station and the visitors center!!), free good breakfast, clean, 2 blocks from a playground
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| Ferry on Lake Lucerne to Mt Rigi |
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| Our backpack carrier was lost on the plane! Thankfully arrived Day 3. |
--Other facts: across the bridge from Old Town but is easy walk. 3 beds cost was $300 (I thought fair)
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| Funicular up Mt Rigi- see the steep angle! |
--My original plan was to keep this day light not knowing what jet lag might do to us but weather was favorable and we felt okay so we headed to Mt Rigi.
--Stopped by visitor’s center to get the scoop on Mt Rigi and they gave us play by play directions and tickets for entire round trip voyage that involved a boat, a train, a cable car, another boat. Easy, fun and you can pick your exact plan on the fly as you go.
--STRONGLY RECOMMEND:Mt Rigi- recommend going straight to the top, where there is a restaurant, views and an abundance of well labeled hiking paths that you can then pick your route on the spot depending on how everyone feels. The train ride up there is incredible- very steep with gorgeous views of Lake Lucerne and really interesting Swiss homes built into the mountainside. Hikes can range from 1 hour to 4 hours. See: http://www.momstotszurich.com/2006/05/mt-rigi-day-trip_31.html/but note you are coming a slightly different way from Lucerne to get to the top.
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| Funicular train |
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| Rest on Mt Rigi hike |
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| Mt Rigi Hike |
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| Walking back from Lido |
--Again, thought we might need some R + R so planned to bum around Lucerne. Started at the WONDERFUL playground and pool and beach at Lido which is walkable from the hotel if you have a kid backpack or good walkers >5 yo.
--Across from Lido is the Transport Museum which is supposed to be great for kids but again, we were feeling good so decided to take an adventure to Mt Stanserhorn which turned out the be AMAZING!!
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| Open air cable car |
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| Open air cable car |
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| Showing off her soon to be brother atop Mt Stanserhorn |
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| Atop Mt Stanserhorn |
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| Car Free Murren |
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| Train travel is easy! |
- We chose Murren as we wanted to be in the mountains and loved the idea of a car free town (only accessible by cable car and train). It was really neat and a great starting off point to other adventures. The hotel was so wonderful we would probably stay here again though reasonable to consider hotels in neighboring towns too.
--bought tickets morning of at train station (again don’t stress about advance planning or tickets)
--multiple short train rides, then cable car, then another train. Journey was probably over 2 hours but seemed short and easy due to frequent vehicle changes.
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| Hotel Eimer pool: Great idea in fickle mountain weather! |
--After checking in and lunch we were excited to explore so took the funicular train up to Almendhubel and STRONGLY RECOMMEND THE BEST PLAYGROUND EVER for adults and kids (The Flower Park). Obstacle course, zip line, pretend cheese shop, underground tunnels for kids and an overlooking deck/restaurant for adults. DON’T MISS THIS
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| Funicular up to Almendhubel |
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| Flower park |
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| Flower park |
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| 3 languages spoken at this cheese house! |
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| Children's Adventure Trail |
DAY 6: FIRST and GRINDELWALD
--Multi-train and cable car journey from Murren up to FIRST. Took a bit but with frequent vehicle changes kept the little one entertained.
--Nice little playground on the walk from train to cable car through Grindelwald.
--Cable car rides were great!!
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| Lake Bachalpsee. Z asleep:) |
--Things we didn’t do but looked fun: First Cliff Walk, mountainside playground at BORT cable car stop, and if you are adventurous you can rent bikes to ride down the mountain. Lots of other great hikes around here.
DAY 7: JUNGFRAUJOCH, Top of Europe
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| Snow field! |
--Bloggers gave mixed opinions about heading up to the highest train station in Europe (11K feet) with little ones. My opinion is not mixed. RECOMMEND: DO IT! The ride up there is not that long and there are multiple stops to keep the kids entertained. The views up top, while unimpressive to children or at least to my child, were absolutely stunning on a clear day. ONLY GO ON A CLEAR DAY. Follow the weather and buy your ticket the morning of, not in advance. Go early in the day as even in the off-season it was busy by the time we left the top.
--Up top there are lots of cool vistas, an opportunity to walk and play on a snow field and if you plan clothing wise and plan your bribes properly (we didn’t) a cool looking walk to the Monschsjoch Hut. We didn’t do this but would plan to on a future trip.
--There is an Ice Palace, which is pretty cool I must admit.
Day 8: LAUTERBRUNNEN and TRUMMELBACH FALLS
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| Trummelbach Falls |
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| Lauterbrunnen Valley |
--Enjoyed an easy paved hike from Lauterbrunnen town proper to the Falls. We were lucky enough to be there DURING the Jungfrau Marathon that was along the path so we cheered runners on the whole way. Really special.
--The Falls are really really neat, but you must be 4 years or older and you do need a close hand on your kiddos- a one to one ratio or very mature, cautious bigger kids needed.
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| Slide on a train!! |
DAY 9: Travel to ZURICH
--Easy travel day. RECOMMEND: Worth the effort to seek out the playground cars on the inter-city trains. They are not on every train so read the train schedules and routes to see which one has the kids’ car. I made us wait 30 minutes for the next train just for this car and was worth it. Really fun, unique, Zo got a big kick out of playing while on the train!
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| Train playground!! |
--Walked around Lake Zurich, nice but no playgrounds that we found- they seem to be away from the water.
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| A completely content, completely exhausted Zooey in front of Lake Zurich, as if to say "Can there be a trip better than this?" No. This. Is. The. Best. |
DAY 10: Travel HOME
--STRONGLY RECOMMEND:The Zurich airport has an observation deck where the kids can watch planes take off and land right up close and the deck has a PLAYGROUND! In the airport! This is free to anyone flying that day but you can also pay to play if you are not flying. If only we had known this the day before on our hunt for a Zurich playground! We wished we had more time here- would have spent 2+ hours playing and watching planes.
--The flight home is LLLOOOONNNNGG, no way around it. This is why we minimize screen time in general, so we can guilt free use it on 10 hour plane rides like this! If you have points or miles or more money than me, I’d consider business or first class.
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| Airport playground |
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| Airport trampoline |
When we go again we will:
--Allow more time for hikes from town to town. The entire Bernese Oberland region is so easily navigable without much planning. The signage is prolific and measures in walking time (“40 minutes to XYX”) rather than mileage which is helpful given the altitude.
--Go to top of Mt Schilthorn and stop at Birg for the Thrill Walk
You are going to be hard pressed to get me to go elsewhere in Europe after this trip…..I just want to go right back to Switzerland!!
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